AP, there was a great blog a couple of years ago that a woman kept as she found out she was pregnant and went through the abortion process. She kept it up for a couple of weeks after the abortion and it was just so interesting to see someone write up exactly how they were feeling, what the process was like, etc. She had no shame about it and I think almost all the comments that were left were extremely supportive. I tried to search for it but I think it disappeared into the land of dead blogs.

Wow. I don't even know what to say. Like, Wow. My mom and I were reading the article, and we're both at a loss for words.

angie_21

Feb 28 2010, 07:15 PM

can you imagine, having an accident, losing your baby and then if everything wasn't bad enough, being brought to court and sent to prison? wow. that's just disgusting.

funnybird

Mar 1 2010, 04:44 PM

Do these idiots know that 1 in 3 pregnancies end in miscarriage? I hope they have plenty of resources if they are going to investigate every single one to check if it was caused by 'reckless behaviour' on the part of the woman. I feel sick after reading this.

Did you check out the poll on the side of the page? right now 55% of the people who voted think that those posters are legit! these must be the same morons who think comparing Obama to hitler because of health care reform is somehow accurate. first step, abortion or universal health care, next step, death camps! it makes complete sense, really.

I've always been pro-choice. It's probably one of the only beliefs I have that I've always been absolutely adamant about; there's absolutely no argument any "pro-lifer" could throw at me that would make me even consider changing my beliefs for an instant. I never thought there was any argument that could make me believe outlawing the right to an abortion was good in any circumstance, at least until I read this article.

Obviously, the long term true solution is to improve the status and rights of women so that the people in these countries stop aborting girls of their own volition, but until that happens would women actually be better served if abortion was prohibited in some fashion in places where this is an issue? I mean it probably isn't, since the legal status of abortion has probably in reality done very little to curb the practice, but I admit the subject matter of the article is so horrible it actually made me consider the idea.

angie_21

Mar 17 2010, 06:56 PM

but the article itself provides a few good reasons why stopping abortions wouldn't come close to solving the problem. The very beginning tells it all - in societies where boys are preferred, female babies are often left to die. Gender discrimination or not, the abortion of a ball of cells is infintely preferrable to the murder of a breathing baby.

And then look at south korea, where things are starting to reverse. The skewing of gender ratios does causes problems, and it really confuses things in societies where men are preffered because of the way money is inherited. Supply and demand dictates that over time, too many men will cause a reduction in the demand for men. And it seems to be happening that way. Women are rare enough to be in high demand once they are older, which means female babies should start to be seen as more valuable by their parents. The discrimination against women based on these systems has been around for so long, something's got to change. Maybe the problems with too many men will force people to start seeing gender differently in these societies!

(I know, I'm too lazy to make my links all pretty and proper like the rest of youse. I suck.)

auralpoison

May 3 2010, 07:08 PM

Wow. Now Florida is getting on the bandwagon. Law passes requiring women to PAY for an ultrasound before getting an abortion. Gee, they probably can barely afford the procedure itself, now you want them to pay for a fucking ultrasound, too?!

pepper

May 3 2010, 09:24 PM

Fuck, sorry on behalf of all Canadians. Our Prime Minister is a right wing mysogenist prick, what else can I say.

At least it wasn't part of the actual curriculum! *sigh of relief* Those pro-life militant groups are pretty scary. They think it's OK to get their message across to children, as early as possible, no matter what they have to do. There's a few organized web groups that advocate things like bringing pro-life cupcakes to your children's school bakesale as a "conversation starter." What kind of crazy person would think that strangers would want to talk about abortion with them? Especially in such an inappropriate setting? Or right, the same people who think abortion is the public's decision and not a personal, private decision made by a single person (or couple, I suppose) for different reasons every time it happens.

The fact that the pro-life comments on that article mostly spew bible quotes does nothing for their credibility.

anarch

May 24 2010, 07:17 PM

"As a parent, I choose to teach my children about those things later in life," she added. "I did not sign a waiver for my daughter to be given a fetus."

Damn right. I guess respecting parents' right to teach kids about sensitive subjects only applies to anti-choice parents.

Slightly off topic -- I've been listening to an audiobook called The Snakehead, about smuggling Chinese nationals into the US during the Clinton years. One of the things that surprised me is that there's some law (instituted under Bush Sr? I think -- would have to go back to the book to check for sure) allowing Chinese who are fleeing the one-child-only law to be admitted to the US as refugees on grounds of political persecution, and there's a portion of anti-choice right-wingers who fully supported admitting these Chinese on those grounds. If the number of refugees claiming this particular persecution rose, though, I wonder how far right-wing support would go before fears of the yellow hordes would take over.

The author talks about anti-choicers and pro-choicers joining forces to help the refugees at the center of the story. It makes me wonder if we might be able to move beyond the anti-choice / pro-choice paradigm, if more focus was on reproductive justice. I'm not well-versed in RJ, but my superficial understanding is that it encompasses abortion as well as issues (economic and policy, primarily) that stop women, who really want another kid, from having them.

Until quite recently Roman Catholic hospitals had to inform women that in cases of birth complications the baptism of the unborn was the first priority. It was explicit that the 'bodily' death of both mother and child as collateral damage was acceptable if only the baby could be kept alive long enough for the ritual. Iirc it was in 1982 only that a doctor was given the choice to risk the unborn for the life of the mother (as long as it was not a direct abortion). But it was still implied that a live baptism followed by two dead bodies was the better choice (than just one dead unbaptized baby).

Anybody know if this is accurate? I googled, but couldn't find anything to confirm. Just this Catholic Encyclopedia entry saying (scroll down about halfway) "Of course provision must be made for the child's spiritual as well as for its physical life, and if by the treatment or operation in question the child were to be deprived of Baptism, which it could receive if the operation were not performed, then the evil would be greater than the good consequences of the operation. In this case the operation could not lawfully be performed."

If the original comment is accurate, it's one more detail illustrating how a significant part of the anti-choice beliefs is all about imposing their @#$%^&*()!!! PAROCHIAL beliefs where they've got no bloody business going. (Yeah, I know there are anti-choice denominations and religions that don't involve baptism. They're still parochial and have got no business interposing their parochial beliefs in a society structured around the separation! of church and state. I also know there are anti-choice atheists and agnostics. They're not the drivers behind most anti-choice legislation, and they're not relevant to this comment I'm making.)

auralpoison

Jun 12 2010, 04:34 AM

QUOTE(auralpoison @ May 3 2010, 08:08 PM)

Wow. Now Florida is getting on the bandwagon. Law passes requiring women to PAY for an ultrasound before getting an abortion. Gee, they probably can barely afford the procedure itself, now you want them to pay for a fucking ultrasound, too?!

I like Crist's veto letter: "Personal views should not result in laws that unwisely expand the role of government and coerce people to obtain medical tests or procedures that are not medically necessary . . . "

This isn't so much news or an update as it is a story that reminds me of why I was a PP escort. Aaron Gouveia & his wife had to make a choice: abortion or deliver stillborn, they chose to abort. This is an expression of Aaron's anguish at a couple of religitards out to shame women (That they feel are a possible suicide risk! Because that is sooooo helpful!) getting abortions. Way to go, Aaron!

anarch

Oct 27 2010, 04:24 PM

People out there who think it's righteous to make people run this kind of shit gauntlet who've already got an overflowing plate of grief -- what monstrous egotism.

I came in here to post a link to Rachel Maddow's documentary about Tiller's assassination.

This proposed legislation effectively puts the right of the fetus above that of the mother: '[t]he argument that eggs and fetuses may be treated as if they are legally independent of the women who carry them has been used to deprive pregnant women of their status as full constitutional persons', effectively reducing them, as one commenter stated, to the status of wards of the state without autonomy to make decisions despite being fully functioning adults. This is a further point on a trajectory of legal logic which seeks (at times) to prosecute women for harming their fetus by drinking wine or indulging in other foods/activities considered to be detrimental to the fetus' development. Truly terrifying.

auralpoison

Jan 19 2011, 11:01 PM

Okay, this kind of complete fuckeryscares the hell out of me. Because of assholes like this greedy fucker, the ProLifers gain ground in encroaching their church on my crotch. How is it the Dr. Tillers of the world get shot, but motherfuckers like this guy get away with piggery for years? Oh, wait, because he served the poor, the minorities, & that immigrant women that have very little voice in a rundown part of Philly instead of a nice street in Kansas.

what in the fuckity-fuck is this draconian B.S.? so if you are a 19 year-old autistic girl and your father impregnates you it's just too fucking bad? the duality of our nation's culture is emetic.

nbdx0645

Feb 1 2011, 12:28 PM

Taken from a Center of Reproductive Rights e-mail I received, in response to the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act"

Hi,

I just signed the "Pledge to Act" in response to anti-choice bills attacking women's rights across the country. If you're sick of legislators getting involved with a woman's private medical decisions and you're ready to fight back, I urge you to sign the pledge with me.

I swear to dog, some days I wanna pack up my shit & move to my own tiny island.

kittenb

Feb 18 2011, 04:15 PM

Save space for me, AP. That SD bill is insane. I'm beginning to think that I'm losing my argument that THE HANDMAID'S TALE could never happen here. Sadly, my bookclub might be right.

Did everyone see that the House voted to defund Planned Parenthood? WTH?

auralpoison

Feb 18 2011, 07:28 PM

It's amazing how the religious right have used hot button issues like abortion & gay marriage & whatnot to actively get Americans to vote against their own best interests. Political sleight of hand may well be the death of us all.

As far as PP goes, lot of people do not care that PP provides much needed help to ALL women & that they provide more than abortion services. All they hear is "abortion" & the mental doors slam. Not to mention that there's also a great deal of misinformation out there in regards to Margaret Sanger & PP's founding as far as eugenics & the like are concerned. There's been a very vocal religious contingent in the black community that has been spreading a ton of untruths about PP & it's goals.

epinephrine

Feb 24 2011, 11:20 PM

Cleanup in aisle 3.

dj-bizmonkey

Feb 25 2011, 07:40 AM

QUOTE(auralpoison @ Feb 18 2011, 06:28 PM)

Not to mention that there's also a great deal of misinformation out there in regards to Margaret Sanger & PP's founding as far as eugenics & the like are concerned. There's been a very vocal religious contingent in the black community that has been spreading a ton of untruths about PP & it's goals.

i need to figure out how to imbed the link underneath text like everyone else seems to be able to do...

auralpoison

Feb 25 2011, 09:03 AM

That's exactly the campaign I was talking about, DJ-Bizmonkey. Life Always has been plastering misleading propaganda all over black communities.

anarch

Feb 25 2011, 03:45 PM

QUOTE(dj-bizmonkey @ Feb 25 2011, 04:40 AM)

i need to figure out how to imbed the link underneath text like everyone else seems to be able to do...

"Insert Link" is the first green icon, to the right of the yellow happy face. Highlight the text you want to be the link, click that "Insert Link" icon, put the URL (from the page you're linking to) into the box, click OK.

auralpoison

Feb 27 2011, 10:35 AM

Why, yes, women of Virginia, this new legislation may close down your means of receiving a safe, legal abortion.

auralpoison

Mar 1 2011, 02:07 PM

Clump of cells to testify in court on behalf of Ohio's Heartbeat Bill. Wow. Just. WOW. Pretty soon those of us with actual voices will have no say at all as far as what happens to our bodies.

Three Days Darkness

Mar 1 2011, 09:35 PM

[31] Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and shall be filled with their own devices. [32] The turning away of little ones shall kill them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. [33] But he that shall hear me, shall rest without terror, and shall enjoy abundance, without fear of evils.

Like many of you I’m pretty outraged about what has been happening with Planned Parenthood and women’s issues in general in our country right now. I feel embarassed and ashamed (but by no means surprised) that my government would rather sponsor NASCAR than STD testing for low-income men and women (see post in the Stranger slog article

For those who don’t know, among other horrific measures, the GOP is trying to completely defund Planned Parenthood. As someone who has worked with low income youth and families for over ten years and volunteered and donated to PP, I can’t tell you what an invaluable resource this organization is.

Given that I'm also a designer in Seattle I'm responding to this, and honoring women’s history month, by creating a necklace to try to raise money for PP.

I'm also offering 15% off all purchases at my shop for anyone who donates $25 or more to PP.

If any of you could help spread the word by posting on your facebook page, tweeting or forwarding , I would greatly appreciate it. My goal is to raise $2500 for Planned Parenthood by the end of March - and to create some female solidarity around this issue that's a little more interesting than a plastic bracelet.

And for full disclosure, yes, I stand to make money from this - my cut works out to about $8.56 per hour - full details are in the listing.